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EMS
The Bob O'Connor administration wants to fill some vacant jobs to maintain city services, particularly in Emergency Medical Services. That'll cost as much as $2 million, and there's little room to increase the city's spending, so department cuts will be a must. :Questions on this EMS staffing shortfall are on the discussion page. EMS Matters Greatly to Pittsburgh We need high quality EMS service in the city. Residents and visitors need to know that they'll be treated well here. One way to kill the city is to further cripple or kill off its EMS Service. Basic health decisions play a part with the leaving of employeers, residents and visitors going elsewhere. The Mayor Murphy Administration was harsh to the EMS Union and its general operations. Broken promises came from his first elections. Murphy kept his power, in part, by making divisions among EMS, Firefighters, and Police. Today, a radical gulf exists among those different departments at certain levels. Perhaps Mayor Bob O'Connor can work to heal the strained releationships in the months to come. For ten years, Mayor Murphy talked about a merger of EMS and Firefighters. It never happened on his watch. Trust was absent on the part of the city's leadership from the EMS Union, and for good reason. There is some reporting of behind-the-scenes meetings among hospital administartions and the Murphy Administation on this topic that excluded the EMS. * EMS Union endorsed Jeff Koch, D, for City Council in 2006. * EMS Union is called Fraternal Association of Professional Paramedics, FAPP. * EMS had a contract to 2005. Contract was extended for six months into 2006 by the outgoing Murphy administation. Down 3 from last year due to EMS billing. Complete handled in $775K of priviatation of billing. Current backlog, and for full billing for next year. Act 47 requires for city residents to make up the costs on transport and insurance. Hospital discussions on hold. Hospitals not willing. 55,000 $450 averge cost $340 K per ambulance on streets $5.8 million operation deficit (some said $7M per year). Higher reembursement rates. Higher productivity of new billing company. Only salary changes are mandated by prior union contracts. What a hospital takeover might look like? Not being considered. Act 47 team is coordination meetings with hospitals. A more reasonable schedule throughout 2005 for some savings in 2006. Sec. Yabonski is chairing meetings. EMS Audit in 2008 * Audit: City EMS Response Slower Than Standard - KDKA - According to an audit conducted by Pittsburgh City Controller Michael Lamb emergency response times in the city are up again. * Pittsburgh Audit Finds Slower Ambulance Response Times - Pittsburgh Channel.com - its number of non-emergency calls because they are slowing down city paramedics' response times, according to an audit by Controller Michael Lamb * Ambulance audit shows Pittsburgh's lagging response times - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review - to Pittsburgh paramedics' excessively long ambulance response times, according to an audit Pittsburgh City Controller Michael Lamb. * EMS planks from Mark Rauterkus * Mayor Tom Murphy's statements on EMS Links Media * EMS-news-proposal from Tribune Review in June 2009 to save money * P-G article on delays for those having a stroke from March 26, 2006 * Blog: Mark Rautekrus & Running Mates on the PG feature from March 24, 2006. * Paramedics, City Continue Talks; Contract Ends Friday, just before All-Star Game People's lives depend on Pittsburgh's paramedics every day -- but the life of the paramedics' union contract is on a six-month extension that runs out on Friday night. from June, 2006 at ThePittsburghChannel.com